Parent Visit

My wonderful parents came to visit two weeks ago.  I knew I would enjoy their company and the opportunity to show them my life here. Surprisingly, we didn't kill each other. Go us. My parents are fairly adventurous, and in many ways are not afraid to make mistakes, which makes them relatively easy to travel with in a foreign country.

Their trip started off with a bang when the family I tutor for (unbeknownst to me) surprised us all and picked my parents up from the airport. We had discussed the possibility of this the previous day, but (due to my bad Spanish) I didn't think we had made firm plans. They did.  I had to work that day, but had planned to surprise my parents by meeting them at the airport as well.  Due to a little scheduling drama at work I was going to be too late to meet them at the airport, so instead went to their hostel to wait for them. Meanwhile, Juan Carlos, the father of the girls I tutor for, had taken them to his hostel where he served them breakfast.  A few phone calls and a taxi ride later, we were all reunited at Juan Carlos's hostel.

In Vilcabamba

Due to my students being in final exams, I had less work than normal, and was able to miss many afternoons and one full day while my parents were here.  Unfortunately, I got really sick (story of my life here), and had way less energy than usual.  This actually worked out fairly well though, because I have a much more youthful mental image of my parents, but these days, they were fairly worn out by 7:30 every night. My parents enjoyed the local cuisine, visited Turi, a neighborhood which over looks the whole city of Cuenca, went to the Modern Art Museum, took a double-decker tour bus throughout the city, enjoyed the many parks of Cuenca, and shopped. We also visited Vilcabamba, a mountain city that is further south than Cuenca, and is more populated by gringos. I had little energy at this point, so my dad did a solo hike through the mountains. The climate is warmer there. Personally, it was nice to return one more time to the lush vegetation which grows in the more humid, lower mountain regions.  I was surprised and unsettled by how much English was present in the city. Almost nobody spoke Spanish to me, or was  even speaking Spanish around me.While the gringo population participates in self-isolation in Cuenca, it was evident that the Gringo and Ecuadorian populations are even more segregated in Vilcabamba. 






Vilcabamba

My parents and I also took a trip to Ingapirca, the largest Incan ruin site in Ecuador.  Ingapirca is a Quichua word which means "Incan Wall." It is a site which originally belonged to the Cañari people, but when the Incan's made their way up through the Andes' Mountains, the site was overtaken. The site is small, but located on the top of a mountain and is therefore very scenically located.

Ingapirca

Sun Temple at Ingapirca

We finished our trip by having almuerzo (lunch) at the house of the family for which I tutor. After lunch, they took us to The Panama Hat Museum, known as the Museo de Sombreros de Paja Toquilla.  After touring the museum and witnessing the assembly process, my parents were each given authentic paja toquilla hats.  We were all overwhelmed by the generosity of this family.  I have been very appreciative of their kindness during our short relationship, but in this instance I was grateful for their desire to give so much to me.